Okay To Cry
by NeoMiniTails
Summary: Rei should follow her own advice. Dedicated to: MidorimaKazunari, BatBratScorp, and SoulsandSwords.


Rei glanced to the left of her where Richard Grayson stood, a solemn smile on his lips. She could tell he hadn't been sleeping, and who could blame him? She sure couldn't. He's been standing tall, seeming almost untouchable, his eyes were shielded from tears, and if she didn't know any better, he'd seem unaffected.

Rei wanted to grasp his hand, intertwine her fingers, tell him that she was there for him if he needed to talk. But no, she was a coward... She couldn't make that move, knowing she couldn't protect Damian the day the world lost that innocent life.

Dick turned to her and for a moment, it felt as if he knew. She could tell he blamed her for the life taken. It wouldn't be the first time that she hadn't been able to use her powers to protect the ones she loved most.

Still, she kept a smile on her lips, keeping the mask readily on her face. Rei Hino doesn't cry; no, she's strong for others and keeps others in prayer so that they can make it through trials. What Dick needed wasn't her tears but her strength!

"Miss Hino, is there anything you want to add?"

Rei looked up then to the right of her where Conner sat, his eyes focused on her, then back to the left then at the papers in front of her. Truth be told, she hadn't listened to a word during the meeting and though she knew there were plenty of things she could bring to the other associates attention, she shook her head and smiled. "Mister Grayson, I think you covered everything nicely."

Conner scowled but said nothing to her as he stood up to give a few announcements. Rei heard something about the event she'd be holding of which she should've mentioned, but now, Conner was giving a broken-down, bored version of what she should've said.

The Japanese woman looked down as Conner sat back down then Dick smiled and let the group of associates go home early.

Conner waited for everyone to leave before following suit. Dick sat still, going through his folders, not looking up but his muscles appeared tensed.

Rei stayed near him, unsure what to do, not knowing what to say or if there was anything she could do.

"Damian... He was a good kid," she finally said.

Dick laughed. "No... He wasn't." There was this affable quality to his voice that made Rei slightly smile.

"He called me scary once."

"He was always honest to a fault."

"Jerk."

Dick looked away. She could see tears coming down his eyes in the reflection of the window.

"I..."

Rei wondered what Nightwing would do if he were there. What would he say to Dick? Hell, she wondered what Barbara would do. Would she hold him in her bosom and silently let him cry into her chest and listen to his worries? Would Dick feel more comfortable had she been someone else or would he force himself to handle this pain all alone?

She saw herself in his tears, trying to be an adult at five years old when her mother died, forcing others to leave her to her lonesome.

"Mister Grayson," Rei whispered in a voice barely audible.

"Yeah, what up?"

"Stop..."

Dick turned to her, his blue eyes somewhere between bewildered and angered. "What the he-"

"Stop holding it in."

"..."

"It's okay to cry... Just cry."

"Rei?"

"No one is going to look down at you for crying. Your brother is gone... Part of you is gone. So cry..." Rei stood up, her hands on her hips, her eyes burning with the flames of the soldier of Mars.

Dick stood up, looked her in the eyes, then opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.

"Today's his birthday."

Rei nodded.

"All the time that I was here, in this meeting, Rei, I was anxious that I hadn't bought him a present yet."

"Oh? Strange how that works, eh?"

"Yeah, strange."

"Mister Grayson..."

"Sorry Rei, I was just thinking of all the things I hadn't told Damian. Even with you, I couldn't just say how I felt about him... Yanno that kid wanted a puppy for his birthday?"

"Yeah, Haruka-san had bought him a toy dog just to annoy him... Now, it's still in the corner of all the gifts that Haruka has bought everyone that she thinks no one knows about."

Dick nodded but it was clear that he wasn't listening. "Thank you, Rei."

Rei smiled as sincerely as she could and moved closer to him, hoping her body would do the thing he needed most.

"It's your mom's birthday today also, isn't it?"

Rei's entire body shook but felt her mask slipping off until suddenly, she was engulfed by his warmth, his arms wrapped around her. "You should take your own advice, Rei."


End file.
